Russia’s Communications Ministry lists threat categories that could trigger RuNet isolation

Russia’s Communications Ministry has prepared a set of executive regulations that describe how and under what conditions control over the Russian segment of the Internet might be centralized. That process could entail isolating Russian traffic from the World Wide Web under a new law passed by the State Duma in April.

The document lists three categories of threats that could lead to centralization and possible isolation:

1. Integrity threats that interfere with connections among users;
2. Stability threats such as natural disasters or equipment failures;
3. Security threats in which hackers target providers’ facilities or somebody creates a “destabilizing internal or external informational impact” on the Web.

In case of a threat that is deemed severe or highly probable, Russia’s regulatory agency for censorship and communications, Roskomnadzor, would be able to take control of the Russian segment of the Internet. In “urgent” cases, the agency would do so without notifying providers while using internal tools to “combat the threats” at hand.